The Mental Health Story: A puppet production from Weyside Smilers
Weyside Smilers is a social group for people who use services that meets every Tuesday in Godalming Methodist United Reformed Church. The group is currently rehearsing for its latest puppet show production: ‘The Mental Health Story’, which includes a mixture of singing and individual stories that relate to the members’ own mental health situations and challenges the stigma surrounding mental health. The show is carefully crafted with stories written and recorded by each member and relayed through their puppet characters with music chosen to represent their experiences of mental health problems.
This project has come about through support and partnership working betwen Sian Sangarde-Brown of Surrey Lifelong Learning Partnership (who create free learning and progression opportunities in the community), Mary Morbelli, a Support Time and Recovery Worker based at Ludlow Road in Guildford, and Sam Sutherland who runs Hubble Community Enterprise and teaches people how to use the puppets.
'The Mental Health Story' will be staged at Godalming Methodist United Reformed Church on Tuesday 5 October between 12.30pm – 2.30pm to celebrate World Mental Health Day. There’s no need to book, just come along on the day.
For more information on Weyside Smilers please contact Sian Sangarde Brown at sian.b@ntlworld.com or Mary Morbelli at mary.morbelli@surreycc.gov.uk
Family Learning at Loseley Fields Children’s Centre
A fun family learning event was held at Loseley Fields Children's Centre in Binscombe this October, attracting thirty families. The event was an opportunity to get the community to help with planning what should be grown in local allotments and community gardens next Spring and to encourage more people to get involved. Broadwater Secondary School provided ICT expertise that allowed people to suggest designs and have since started weekly Garden Design sessions on the computer.
For more information about this event, see our family learning pages.
